Heaven is a place on earth
by Blackwell
Summary: There are moments of change. Moments of choose. It just so happened that in one such moment a green eyed boy stayed instead of leave. He stayed and talked to the boy with whiskered cheeks. VARIOUS ONE-SHOT. -Not as happy as it sounds...


**Disclaimer:** NOTHING BELONGS TO ME, I HAVE NOTHING, I'M POOR, SNIF.. SNIFF…

**N/A:**

I wrote this in about two days, sorry for the bad grammar, he he.

It's just that this idea struck and I couldn't do anything else till I completed this.

Oh! And the title comes from the song with the same name from Berlinda Carlisle I think.

Enjoy!

* * *

'**Heaven is a place on earth'**

by Blackwell

* * *

There were boys and girls from five to eleven years old in the playground. Somewhere playing by themselves, others with toys and others in the swings or slides. 

All of them laughing.

All of them smiling.

All of them happy.

Because such is the innocence of the young, so carefree, so naive, so trusting, so impressionable, so… young.

* * *

A little boy in blue shorts, white shirt with an orange spiral on his front and blue sandals watched them from not very afar, carefully hidden behind a tree, part of him hoping some other child might spot him and ask him to play with them while the other part, the part that saved him every day of one or two major problems, keep him half hidden in case an adult might find him and throw him out the playground or tell the other kids to don't play with _that boy._

He scanned the playground meticulously.

No adults in sight. Check.

Perfect.

With a refined grace no one would expect from a seven-year-old the boy revealed himself from behind the tree with a jump.

A tentative shy smile on his face.

Expectant and hopeful blue eyes.

Little hesitant steps.

Nervous hands at his sides.

_Whiskered cheeks._

At first it seemed that just a handful of kids noticed his approaching, then, like a chain reaction, kids began noting the abrupt stop in the games, the stares of others kids and following the gazes, and they knew the blond kid was there.

-Oi! –childish voices began- ain't he _that _kid?

-Him?

-Dad said he's bad news.

-Goota go! Grandma said I had to leave if he came! She goes nuts if I stay around!

-Huh?

-Whatz he doing here?

-Surely he have lices, don't get near him.

-Hey! What's wrong?

-I won't play with him! It's an idiot I tell ya!

-Just ignore him, mom said to. He'll leave.

-Why don't we…

-Are you nuts!?

-What's that kid doing just standing there?

-Hey! That's my swing!

-No way, you moved now's mine!

-Cheater!

The kids returned to their games.

Not above to let himself falter by simple words the blond kid keep on walking till he reached a group of four children chatting animatedly.

-Ohayo! -said the blond with a loud childish happy voice- Watcha doing? Is it cool? Can I play to!?

Silence.

The group had stopped talking.

-We're not playing! –replied the tallest of them quickly- we were, mhhm…

The tallest gave a look to one of the kids in a red shirt.

-Yeah! Ano, we were just leaving, just going home in a moment –said 'red shirt' almost convincingly.

_Almost._

The smile of the blond kid reduced a little bit but was steadily kept in place.

The kid that was chumming a gum gave him an awkward smile and slipped an arm around the shoulders of the last kid, 'green eyes'.

-Been... (chum) …here since… (chum) …early mor… (chum)…ning! Right? –said 'gummy kid' looking at his arm's end.

'Green eyes' nodded slowly but surely.

-Time to leave then –said 'tallest', and then shouted- Race ya!

And he was running. His group racing a couple of seconds behind.

Before turning the corner of the street one of them couldn't avoid one last glance to the playground.

From the corner of his eyes he saw the little blond boy close his eyes and sigh tiredly, sadly.

The green eyed boy hesitated.

* * *

_And the world slowed down just then._

There are moments in the lives of every being, moments that change the direction of our future, the shape of our world.

Moments of change.

Moments of choose.

It just so happened that in one such moment a green eyed boy headed south instead of north.

He stayed instead of leave.

_And the word continued moving on its own._

* * *

He turned back and walked to the blond boy. 

-Ma, ma. Why the long face? Oi! Let's play tag!

The eyes snapped open.

The boy looked at him with big blue amazed eyes before recovering quickly and raising his right fist in the air.

-YATA! –he shouted excited.

The blond could not believe his luck, since he had memories there had always been the sentiment of solitude, abandonment. With the villagers, the majority would refuse to look at him, to acknowledge that he was even there at all and with the rest, there was always _those_ looks, something between hate and weariness as if he had done something that they thought wasn't right, but for the life of him Naruto couldn't remember what had he ever done to any of them. Maybe it had been his parents whoever they had been or he had done something and didn't realize it, anyway, the villagers weren't telling him.

A lot of people didn't seem to like him at all, some seemed to tolerate his presence as long as he didn't talk to them, others completely ignored him. If he was to be honest the only person who ever seemed to like him was the old man Hokage, but sometimes Naruto asked himself if it wasn't because he was the Hokage that he did it, he had never seen the old man being mean to anyone, maybe it was just cause he was nice with everyone included Naruto. And Naruto would like to be a ninja because in that way he would work for someone who was nice to him by chance.

And now he finally was with someone who was nice to him, the kid had stayed with him; he hadn't gone with the other kids. He had stayed with him.

That was something that even Naruto at his short age knew to appreciate.

They played all the afternoon to hide and seek, tag, at the ropes, with a forgotten red balloon near a bench, in the swings and slides, once and again, and again, and again till the sky began getting dark. It was just then that they stopped.

-It's dark already; don't you have to go home?

-No

-Is someone picking you up?

-No, are you going now?

-Hai. Mom said I had to get back after dark, now that I'm ten I can arrive a little after the sun hides. I don't live to far from here, just two blocks over there –he said pointing to the right side of the street- And you? Where do you live… mhhm? Ano, gomen! I never asked for your name! My name is Miyahara Kenji.

-I'm Uzumaki Naruto. You're so cool Miyahara-san!

Green eyes, Miyahara Kenji, let out a surprised laugh.

-Just call me Kenji-kun, all right Naruto-kun?

Blue eyes shinned.

A sweet smile, not sad anymore.

-I gotta go now, so are you leaving too?

The blond nodded.

-Bye, Naruto-kun and good night!

-Bye Kenji-kun!

Kenji walked by the street and the blond lost sight of him when he rounded the corner.

Naruto sat in a swing, and while looking at the stars he began humming a happy song.

* * *

-Ano… Kenji-kun? You sure this old thing won't break? 

-Oi! This is as hard as the village's walls, come over here and you'll see!

Naruto looked at Kenji who sat happily over a branch and then to the oversized tree that seemed to tower almost three times over the others. Kenji had wanted to show Naruto his favorite tree in the world, so they had agreed to meet early in the morning over the edge of the village and then walked a little inside the woods.

Almost one month had happened since he had met Kenji.

Naruto's life had become more full and bright.

The glares and the whispers while he walked a street didn't bothered him as much as before, thought when Kenji has confessed his mother had told him to don't get too close to 'that kid' (thought Kenji assured him he didn't care what people said about him cause he thought he was a pretty good kid, he still insisted the villagers may be confusing him with some other blonde kid who probably do something very mean to them but they had yet to realize that Naruto wasn't that kid) he had been pretty confused, he didn't remember having ever done any prank near the playground or Kenji's house.

Naruto had introduced Kenji to his beloved ramen and Kenji made him eat some cheesecake that tasted rather good, ok, he had loved it, not as much as ramen but pretty much. Kenji had taught him how to do a parachute and Naruto had taught him how to put oil in the main entrance of people houses ( Kenji hadn't know what the oil was for till he saw the man slide and fell down the floor, initially he had been mortified and tried to apologize to the man but the blonde didn't let him and by the end of the day both were laughing at the man's misfortune)

They saw each other almost every one or two days in the playground and he had even played once with Kenji's friends thought they seemed a little wary.

Naruto had seen the old man one day and stayed all the afternoon in the Hokage's tower chatting animatedly about his new friend all day, repeating everything almost five times thought the old man didn't seem to notice and just smiled at him saying how happy he was for him having a friend. The blond had promised to bring his friend the next time he came to visit him.

-Oh! Come on! The tree ain't that big, don't be a sissy baby! Gimme your hand I'll help!

-I'm not a sissy baby!! –shout the blond frowning and glared to his green-eyed friend.

-Then prove it! –challenged Kenji.

-I'm gonna kick your ass!!

And Naruto raced to the tree and launched himself to the lowest branch; almost a minute later he was sitting next to Kenji enjoying the wind blowing against theirs faces.

-I sooooo like being up here! I like to feel the fresh wind in my face and the sight is so cool, look –he said pointing towards the village that could be seen very clearly from where they were- there is the market, and the toy store, the academy ninja, the Hokage's tower, the pools! (I love going there!), the playground and my house!

Naruto looked.

He loved the village, it was sad that the villagers didn't seem to like him even a little bit.

-I suppose… over there is my apartment, in that building –he was pointing at his place.

Silence.

-You really live alone, do you?

-Yeah, what's so strange?

-Dunno, you're so little…

-The old man said the same. Anyway, a lot of people don't seem to like me much, one day the orphanage throw me out so I lived in the park for a few days till some ninja guy took me to the old man, then he gave me an apartment. Just said it had to be clean and I shouldn't stay in the streets after ten at night. The old man brings me food every two weeks or sends someone else when he's too busy.

Kenji blinked.

-What old man?

-You know, old man Hokage.

Silence.

Chuckles.

Merry laughter.

Outright laughter.

-Only you Naruto! Only you! Jajajaja!!

They stayed over there for almost an hour.

-I gotta go, I said to mom I wouldn't be out too long cause is Sunday and she wanna go buy some stuff.

-Okay.

Both went dawn the tree and returned towards the edge of the village.

* * *

Naruto and Kenji were walking and occasionally half-running in a mock race. They were half-running again with Kenji as leader (for being the tallest of the two he could take greatest steps, the blonde didn't mind till Kenji called him a 'midget' and now insisted that he would be taller than him some day) and Naruto a little behind him when the blonde run straight into a passing man and stumbled, head down to the ground. 

-Itai! –complained Naruto rubbing his head while slowly standing at the same time.

-Come Naru-chan! Hurry up! –said Kenji smiling staying where he was, waiting for his friend.

-Don't call me that or you'll see! –replied the blond pointing to his friend though the smile didn't leave his face the whole time.

Naruto faced the man to apologize.

-Gomen asai strange-black-dressed guy!

And the blonde was off again running to his friend.

-OI! –the voice was raspy and mature- YOU THAT KID? UZUMAKI NARUTO?

The seven-year-old stopped and faced the man.

It was a white, slime, tall man dressed in all black. The hair and the eyes were black too and something was strapped to his left high arm, something that looked like a headba…

-OI! ANSWER TO ME, BAKA!

This time the man didn't had to wait for an answer.

-I'M NO BAKA, YOU DOUBLE BAKA! I'M THE AMAZING UZUMAKI NARUTO SO YOU BETTER RESPECT ME!! –shouted the blond looking directly into pool twin's of black, black deep eyes, black eyes, re…

-NARUTO, LOOK OUT!!!

* * *

'He looks strange' thought Kenji while Naruto raised to his feet rubbing his damaged head. He didn't want to stay and talk to the strange-black-dressed guy so he hurried his friend. 

-Come Naru-chan! Hurry up!

-Don't call me that or you'll see!

Oh, yeah. His blue-eyed friend didn't like it one bite when he called him that, so that's why he tried to use the name at any chance so it would infuriate the blond. It was funny when his face became all red with embarrassment.

-Gomen asai strange-black-dressed guy!

Kami. Barely a few weeks and Naruto already was rubbing onto him.

He snorted.

And a strange-black-dressed guy was what the man really was.

-OI! YOU THAT KID? UZUMAKI NARUTO?

Shocked silence.

How did he knew Naruto's name?

He sized the man again. Who was he? Was he dangerous? Was he one of those villagers that hated Naruto?

-OI! ANSWER TO ME, BAKA!

The man's nerve! To call his friend baka! Naruto was no idiot! He was actually quite intelligent for his age, sometimes even surpassing him (but he wasn't about to admit that to Naruto in his face).

-I'M NO BAKA, YOU DOUBLE BAKA!...

And Naruto's brashness and temperament made themselves known again. He really had to learn to control his temperament, he had told him several times that…

- …I'M THE AMAZING UZUMAKI NARUTO SO YOU BETTER RESPECT ME!!

In his rant, his friend had failed to see the black-dressed man reaching the right pocket of his pants whit his hand and taking something from it. It was a…

Green eyes winded with fear.

His brain acted alone and the words were out of his mouth before he even had thought of them.

-NARUTO, LOOK OUT!!!

* * *

Blue eyes winded. 

A shiny thing flew quickly towards him.

_The world seemed to go in slow motion for a second._

It neared his head. Blond hair fell to the ground.

It passed him.

And he heard it.

_A sound he will forever remember._

The sound of a stop.

An object hitting something.

Metal hitting flesh.

He forgot all about the black dressed man in the street and the shiny thing.

The blond turned his head.

Looked behind him.

He saw it.

_A sight he could never forget._

Still standing.

Pale as a sheet of paper.

Big green eyes forever stuck in an unfocused gaze of amazed incredulity.

Both hands holding strongly something at the left side of his stomach.

Something half-shiny, half-covered with red.

Gravity struck and Kenji fell to his knees.

A clank resonated in the empty street.

A bloody kunai in the floor.

The seven-year-old who had been momentary frozen seemed to suddenly wake and hurried to the side of his friend. A terrified expression on his face.

-Kenji! Kenji! Please!! KENJI! –shouted Naruto, tears rolling profusely down his cheeks.

-Na… nar… u… ch-n.

-No! Kenji! Don't!! I… I'm go… I…

Hurt!

He was hurt!

It was blood.

Bleeding.

Kenji. Bleeding. Shiny. Flying. Red. Hitting. Hurry. Bleeding. Kenji. Blood. Hurry. So much blood. So pale. Kenji bleeding. Quick. Blood in his hands. Blood in his legs, in his shirt. Red. Kenji. The blood was red. Hurry. So much red. No more red. No red. Stop. Hurry. Kenji. Shiny. Hitting. Quick. Stop the red. Hurry. He fell. No red. No blood. Hurry. Stop the red. How stop the red. Stop the blood. Hurry. Stop it. Hurry. Someone stop it. Hurry. Stop the blood! Hurry! Stop bleeding! HURRY! SOMEONE MAKE HIM STOP BLEEDING!!! **HURRY**!!

-HE… HEE… HELP!! –shouted the blond- SOMEBODY HELP!

Naruto looked in panic to both sides of the street, no one was there.

-**HEEELP!! PLEASE HEEELP HIM!!** –he shouted louder.

No one was coming.

Why?

There was no one.

_Where was everyone?!_

-**HEEEELP!!! PLEEEASE!!! HEEEEELP!! SOMEBODY HEEELP HIM!!!**

Kenji wasn't moving.

Where were the adults?

**-HEEEEEEELP!!!**

He keep bleeding.

Where were the ninjas?

**-PLEEEEEASEE!!!! HEEEEEELP!!!!!**

There was so much blood in the floor.

Where was the old man?

**-HEEEEELP!!! GOMEEEN!! GOMEEN ASAAI!! PLEEASE!! HEEELP HIM!!!**

Was he breathing?

Was someone coming?

_Where was everyone?!_

Kenji still wasn't moving, his eyes were half-closed but he kept bleeding.

He was bleeding _so much_.

They were between the village and the beginning of the inner forest of Konoha. Maybe there weren't people close by.

Naruto made his decision.

The seven-year-old stand up and run as fast as he could to the streets of the village.

THERE!!!

An old woman with grocery bags walking down the street!

-Please, ma'am!! –he shouted still running towards her- PLEEASE HEELP HIM!!

The woman jumped and looked at him curiously. Seconds later she gasped, letting the bags fell to the floor and the contents spread all around. Before Naruto get near her she was already running, groceries forgotten.

The child stopped, confused. But didn't dwell on it and run instead to the left, inside the market where the woman had come.

He spotted a mature man near a place of onions and instantly glued himself to the legs man shouting frenetically.

-PLEEASE HELP HIM!! HE'S HURT! PLEASE SIR! HE'S BLEEDING! HELP HIM! HEEELP HIM!!

The man had been initially stunned, confused and frozen in place, but when he took on the boys face, on the whiskered cheeks, his eyes winded and a scowl formed on his face.

-Oi! Brat! Get away from me!

The boy refused to move shouting something the man didn't care to listen, it was after all 'that kid' the one who was saying them. Then the man took Naruto forcefully from his shoulders and throw him to the floor almost hatefully. Naruto stood there, shocked.

There were more people in the market but everyone looked anywhere but to the kid. And the whispers and the shouts began again like everytime he dared get near the market.

-Get out!

-You, kid! Get the hell away from here!

-Can't believe it! The nerve of that 'thing'.

-Yeah! Just barging in here as if he owned the place.

There were at least twenty people in the market but no one wanted to listen.

No one wanted to help Kenji.

_Please._

Didn't they listened to anything he said?

_Please._

Why no one helped Kenji!!?

_Please._

WHY!!

_Please._

Kenji needed help!

_Please._

He had to found someone to help Kenji.

Naruto run towards the market exit and into the street panicked.

He needed someone.

_Please._

Anyone.

_Please._

And suddenly, a brown-headed young man was there, walking down the street. Naruto ignored the scar-like-X on the man's nose and focused solely on the metal headband on his front and the grey vest he was wearing.

Konoha headband. Ninja. Grey Vest. Chunnin.

_-And if you are ever in danger or need any help for something serious search for a ninja._

_-Nani? Wadda yada mean? A ninja old man?_

_-Yes, Naruto-kun. Ninja protect all the people who live in the village._

_A pause._

_-Even me? –voice laced with curiosity. Blue eyes expecting an answer._

_Silence. _

_A sigh._

_-Yes, Naruto-kun. Even you. _

It was a ninja!

The ninja will surely help Kenji!

-WAIT!! NINJA-SAN!

The ninja stopped walking and focused his gaze on the seven-year-old boy.

Recognition and surprise filled his eyes.

Naruto feared the worst when he saw the ninja's eyes widen slightly but he wouldn't let himself be put aside again. This ninja will help Kenji whatever he wanted or not.

The boy launched himself to the man and grasped his black pants with no intention of letting go.

-PLEASE!!! HE NEEDS HELP! HELP HIM, NINJA-SAN! HE'S BLEEDING, PLEASE HEEELP HIM!!!

A scowl was forming on the man's face and then, he paled.

-Did you…? Bleeding? Who's bleeding? Where?

The boy felt as if he was about to cry again in relief.

Finally.

Someone cared.

-That odd-black-dressed guy! and Kenji wouldn't stop bleeding! He's there! –Naruto said pointing to the left, his hand shaking, his eyes filling again with tears- near the playground!

Somehow the man was already running holding the child to his left side.

-To the right, over there, around here –said the boy, guiding the ninja between the streets.

Kenji was still there.

The blood had spread even more to the sides.

The ninja lowered Naruto quickly, raced towards Kenji and bent to his knees.

Later, when Naruto were to try to remember those moments he would realize everything was some kind of blur after that.

He would remember the ninja standing up with Kenji on his arms, telling him that he will go to the hospital, telling him to don't move, telling him that someone will come to get him.

_Now that I'm ten I can arrive a little after the sun hides._

The ninja leaving rushing over the rooftops.

_You are just soo dirty Naruto-kun!! JAJAJAJA!!_

He, just standing there looking into the pool of his blood's friend

_Just call me Kenji-kun, all right Naruto-kun?_

The shiny thing. The kunai that had struck his friend, long covered in dried blood.

_Wow, you sure like ramen! Ok, I'll give it a try._

And then, just knowing.

_Mhhmm... All right! Since today, your name is officially Naru-chan! Why? Cause you're so tiny and just so cute! Ja Ja Ja Ja_

He had…

_NARUTO, LOOK OUT!!!_

…just know it.

_Na… nar… u… ch-n._

He will never see his friend smiling, laughing, talking, running on the street, and playing on the slides and the swings. His friend looking at him, talking to him, smiling at him, playing with _him_, his friend just standing there with him.

_My name is Miyahara Kenji._

He will never be with him because his friend was dead.

_Oh! Come on! The tree ain't that big, don't be a sissy baby! Gimme your hand I'll help!_

Kenji was dead.

_Ma, ma. Why the long face? Oi! Let's play tag!_

He had felt a new wave of tears filling his eyes again, rolling down his cheeks.

His friend.

No one could lose that much blood and survive.

His friend had di...

Someone had hurt his friend and no one had wanted to help him.

_An action he will never forgive._

Four more ninjas had showed up, landing near him from kami knows where. They were doing something Naruto didn't know what it was; one of them approached him. It was a long red headed chick wearing a gray vest. Chunnin then.

She asked a lot of things, his voice nearly broke when she asked Kenji's name and address but he answered nonetheless and vaguely noticed one of the ninja disappear in the direction of Kenji's house. And then he found himself repeating the same answers again and again, he didn't understand why was she asking the same things but in different way. What had happened? A man had come, So, then had appeared a man? Yes, So had the man been the one who did it? Yes, But it was the man right? Yes, that guy, But who had been behind everything? Told'ya was the man.

And after what appeared to be an eternity the chick said they'll go to the hospital and after that everything continued a little bit more fuzzy, he supposed he had fallen asleep while the chick was jumping from rooftop to rooftop because the next thing he knew was waking up in Konoha hospital almost a full day later.

Old man Hokage had come some time later and sat in his bed, he had stayed silently with him for even more time.

Hours had passed.

The man had finally asked and Naruto had answered the best he could. Trying to remember all the little details he had overlooked before about the man…

…the man that had… had…

Kenji…

While he lay in the hospital remembering his friend, the villagers disregards, the ninja-man with the kunai, the ninja with the scar-like-X on his nose that had finally tried to help him, he made a promise.

_He promised to himself that he will forever remember._

_That he will never forget._

_And he will never forgive._

From then on would be very few things the ones that could bring a sad tiny smile on the face of a blue-eyed blond headed boy with whiskered cheeks.

* * *

When the time came Konoha would regret his treat towards the nine-tailed-demon vessel.

* * *

**The end**

* * *

**N/A:** Finally! Just had to get it out of my system. 

It's Saturday 1st of March 2008 2:56am


End file.
